‘I have no control over this’: Parents face challenges with kids’ social media use

social media use.To a certain degree, the damaging effect social media can have – particularly on young people – is nothing new.

But in the decades since the introduction of MySpace and the eventual rise of Facebook and Instagram, there are indications it’s getting worse.A recent deep dive into Facebook’s operations, by the Wall Street Journal, revealed the company is well aware of its platforms’ negative influences on the mental health of users – a sizable percentage of those being young ones.

Influenced: A Global News series about social media’s impact on and offline Despite the negative effects coming into clearer focus, the entrenchment of social media in the day-to-day lives of Canadians is nearly inescapable.

Global News is unravelling the many facets of influence these platforms have — both offline and on.Four Canadian parents spoke to Global News and detailed how social media is impacting their household, and hope their experiences help others when it comes to parenting in the social media age.Karen Dancy has rules for her 15- and 13-year-old sons when it comes to social media use.The 50-year-old Brampton, Ont., resident and her husband have instilled in them not to share any personal information on applications, to use fake names, and to avoid saying or doing anything that may come back to haunt them.Dancy is confident her boys follow those rules – but parenting in the social-media age comes with stress, be it from wondering how her children are behaving on social media to worrying if they will end up in a viral post that will have a negative impact on their lives.“It’s almost like another world that you have to kind of keep in mind,” Dancy told Global News.“Before, you just had to grow up and worry about what.